Orange County

Garden Grove Sets Moratorium on New Cyber Cafes

The Garden Grove City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a 45-day moratorium on new Internet cafes, and placed tighter controls on the 20 cafes already open.

The new ordinance also will restrict the number of computers to cut back on crowding, set a mandatory closing time of 2 a.m. and require surveillance cameras. Cafe owners who spoke said they planned to buy the cameras anyway.

The changes follow several criminal incidents, mostly in parking areas; the most serious was the Dec. 30 stabbing death of a 20-year-old outside the PC Cafe on Garden Grove Boulevard. A 21-year-old suspected gang member has been charged with murder.